Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page 117

5) 5th D. INSIDE CONNECTICUT PAGE S3 SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7,1985 West Hartford Farmington Valley Edition Utility Sued by Wife of Worker Killed in Collapse The suit alleges that NU and three subsidiaries were negligent and careless in not warning Mulligan that the bridge would not support the weight of traffic on the bridge. less in not warning Mulligan that the bridge would not support the weight of traffic on the bridge. The suit seeks more than $15,000 in damages. Mulligan was a truck driver for Charter Oak Construction Co.

of West Hartford, which had contracted with NU and the subsidiaries to help in the relocation of utility lines and trenches during reconstruction of the bridge, according to the suit. The Farmington Avenue bridge crosses Trout Brook. sidiaries knew or should have known that a wall and steel beam key structural supports for the bridge, had been removed. John H. Ireland, NU's director of claims and insurance, said Friday that NU was not at fault in the accident.

When it was served the suit Aug. 29, NU wrote a letter to Charter Oak saying that the utility would not be liable in any judgment. Instead, Charter Oak, as the contractor, would be liable, Ireland said. Charter Oak executives could not be reached for comment Friday. By STEVE BURKHOLDER Courant Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN The widow of a construction worker killed two years ago when part of a West Hartford bridge collapsed is suing Northeast Utilities, which had hired the man's construction firm to do work at the bridge, according to the suit filed in Middletown Superior Court.

Mildred E. Mulligan of Middle- town, the widow of George C. Mulligan, filed the suit Thursday. It alleges that NU and three subsidiaries were negligent and care cording to the suit. That section collapsed, causing Mulligan to fall to the surface below and die from mulitiple fractures and internal injuries, according to the suit.

The suit says that NU and its sub are Hartford Electric Light Connecticut Light and Power Co. and Northeast Utilities Service Co. At the time of the accident, Mulligan, 57, of Middletown, was standing next to a cement mixer truck on the southwest portion of the bridge, ac TOWN BRIEFS TORRINGTON Both Parties Ready For Tuesday Primary Members of both political parties will go to the polls Tuesday to decide who their candidates will be for mayor in November. Two Democrats and two Republicans seek to replace Mayor Michael J. Conway in the city's first dual primary in almost two decades.

Democrat Lillian Raymond is challenging the party's endorsed candidate, Peter N. Landucci, and Republican Robert F. Conforti is facing Delia Donne, the GOP's endorsed candidate. Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday, said Deputy Registrar Ameila K.

Waldron. The polling places are District 1, Torringford School, West Street; District 2, Civic Center, Coe Park; District 3, City Hall, 140 Main District 4, Southeast School, Oak Avenue; District 5,. State Armory, South Main Street; and District 6, the city's Winthrop Street property. The district numbers changed this year because the voting records have been computerized, Waldron said. WEST HARTFORD Commission Awaits Selectmen's Action BY MARK CHEATHAM Courant Staff Writer SIMSBURY The Board of Selectmen is expected to formalize the existence of its Human Services Commission Monday, and creation of a senior citizen center and housing for the elderly will be among the group's first priorities: The selectmen will consider adopting an ordinance, required by state law, that would define the rules and regulations of the commission.

The commission was created with voter approval last November and members were appointed in January. It has been meeting informally. The commission combined the jobs of the Disabilities Advisory Committee, the Committee on Aging and the Health and Welfare Committee, which had been working separately. "There are policy areas that some government entity should be working on," First Selectwoman Margaret C. Shanks said.

"It's easier for the board if the Human Services Commission does the legwork." Shanks said she expects the selectmen to adopt the ordinance. Chairwoman Gwenne Simpson said she and other commission members met regularly between May and July drafting the ordinance selectmen will act on. The group met recently to establish priorities in anticipation of approval by the selectmen. "We're not going to accomplish everything this year or next, but we do have a lot of ideas that we'd like to pursue," Simpson said. Besides creating a senior center 2nd Tower Application Submitted by WHCT The subsidiaries listed as defendants in the lawsuit along with NU The commission was created with voter approval last November and members were appointed in January.

and housing for the elderly, goals for the commission include renovating the kitchen at Eno Memorial Hall, which was found to violate fire codes; establishing a senior job bank for retired citizens who want to use their particular skills at a part-time job; and the development of public awareness and outreach programs for the disabled, Simpson said. The duties of the commission may overlap with those of the town's Health and Welfare Department, but the panel will concentrate on other needs and projects for the elderly, Simpson said. The commission's Health and Welfare Committee has no members, however, and at least seven people still are needed, Simpson said. Anyone interested in joining that committee should contact the selectman's office at 651-3751. All three commissions have, at times, experienced a lull in activities but will be more productive, she said.

"The commission is going to be more dynamic because people on the commission will contribute different viewpoints. We're all learning, but we've come a long way since May." My client feels this new proposal meets the requirements of the zoning commission. Mark Oland Counsel for Astroline Communications and radio stations WTIC-AM and -FM. The land at the rear of the proposed site is owned by the Metropolitan District Commission and is undeveloped, O'Leary said. He said 32 acres of the buffer land at the site are in West Hartford.

Residents also feared that the Federal Aviation Administration would require the tower to have strobe lights. Oland said WHCT is requesting only red lights for the new tower and that Astroline officials are "prepared to take the tower down if strobes are needed" in the future. Oland said Avon Mountain is the preferred location for the tower, although station officals still are considering other options. "Deercliff Road is a very desirable broadcast location," Oland said. "Most of the towers were there before the residents." Astroline bought Channel 18 from the Faith Center of Glendale, in January for $3.1 million.

drivers are not heeding a national campaign to discourage driving while intoxicated. Guyette said the goal of the state police's yearlong program to arrest drunken drivers and speeders in Burlington is to reduce the number of automobile accidents. Last year, the state police began a program to reduce accidents in small towns around the state. It includes compiling statistics of automobile accidents, primarily those caused by speeders and drunken drivers. South Africa Talk Sept.

t. 18 at UofH A talk on the current political turbulence in South Africa will be given at the University of Hartford on Sept. 18 by a faculty member who once taught in Cape Town. The speaker will be Harald M. Sandstrom of Bloomfield, associate professor of politics and government and director of the university's African American Studies Program.

The talk is free and open to the public. It starts at 6:30 p.m. in Suisman Lounge of the Gengras Campus Center. The event is co-sponsored by the African-American Studies Program and the Politics and Government Club. Refreshments will be served.

For further information, call 243-4526. Sixth Graders Join Middle School The inauguration of a sixth grade at its middle school campus will highlight the opening of Kingswood-Oxford School's 77th academic year Tuesday. The new grade is a pilot program consisting of two, 11- student sections. The pupils will move from teacher to teacher for each academic subject and be integrated into the middle school's extracurricular and athletic activities. This will be the first time in 38 years that the independent day school has offered instruction at the sixth-grade level.

Its parent institutions, Kingswood and Oxford schools, discontinued their sixth grades in 1947 and 1945 respectively. The new sixth grade will be called "upper prep," the term used by the old Kingswood School to designate its sixth grade. CANTON Residents Warned About Fake Police Police are warning residents about a couple who are impersonating police and asking residents questions about their home security systems. Sgt. Stephen W.

Cudworth said police received a complaint from a woman about a series of telephone calls she received from a man and a woman who identified themselves as members of the Police Department. The people then asked the woman her name and details about her home security system. Cudworth warned town residents, "If you receive a call such as this, give no information, hang up and call the Police Department to check the caller's authenticity." TAKE THIS! Gretchen Upnolt, 3, of West Hart- yard on a hot and humid Friday afternoon. The ford gets set to spray her brother in their front forecast was for more hot weather today. Plastic Fire Helmets Pass Safety Test By TERRY BARTLETT Courant Correspondent AVON Officials of WHCT-TV filed an application with the town Friday to build a 750-foot broadcast tower atop Avon Mountain.

An earlier proposal to build a tower in the area was denied by the town's Planning and Zoning Commission in June after residents Astroline Communications of Hartford wants to build the tower about a mile from the original site it sought on Deercliff Road, said Mark Oland, of the Hartford law firm Schatz Schatz Ribicoff Kotkin, Astroline's legal counsel. The original plan was to build a 796-foot tower to replace the existing 300-foot tower, which is built on 19.6 acres of land. The new tower would be built on 88.7 acres, Oland said. If the commission accepts the application, Astroline would "take down the old tower and transmission facility," he said. "My client feels this (new proposal meets the requirements of the zoning commission," Oland said.

When the earlier proposal was made, residents argued that the tower would be too close to their homes and that not enough "buffer" land surrounded the tower in case it fell, tochael K. O'Leary, town planner, Said there are no houses in the vicinity of the site proposed Friday for the hew tower. The site is across the Jtreet from a "tower farm," which contains towers for WFSB-TV, a iveather radar station, WEDH-TV, Paula Sronsteln The Hartford Courant with OSHA's decision that the plastic helmets are safe. "We have the best, safest equipment we can have for our firefighters," he asked. Rudolph Fiorello, a union representative for the Fire Department, was unhappy with the decision, however.

"Because the fact the men can't hear out of one side of their helmet doesn't violate OSHA standards, that means it's OK to use the helmets," he said Friday. "It doesn't matter that it's not safe and that someone's life could be jeopardized." Fiorello said he has received more than 200 complaints about the plastic helmets, and said 98 percent of them cite limited hearing as the problem. 1-91 Southbound northbound lanes began at King Street Thursday night. That work is expected to reach Hazard Avenue by the end of next week, he said. O'Connor said guardrails removed while crews work on the shoulders are quickly replaced.

Work on the I-91-widening project will continue to be done mostly at night to allow two lanes of traffic to move through the area during daylight hours, he said. Bridge work scheduled for next week on Oliver, Post Office and South roads may cause periodic detours between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., O'Connor said. By TATIANA PINA Courant Staff Writer Hartford firefighters will have to wear helmets made of plastic instead of leather after the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration ruled this week the plastic helmets are safe. Firefighters in June had sought a variance from OSHA to allow them to keep their leather helmets.

They said the new Morning Pride 72 Plus plastic helmets, which have been in use since February, restricted their hearing and became uncomfortably hot. The leather helmets do not meet new OSHA standards. The plastic helmets passed OSHA inspections, however. The resident troopers are compiling data identifying where and why accidents occur in town. The information is used by the troopers and town constables to determine where patrols should be increased.

Other elements of the crackdown include spot patrols of heavily traveled state highways. Guyette said the community also can help identify traffic problems by informing the troopers of any roads or intersections where they have seen excessive speeding or other problems. "OSHA examined the plastic helmet by every OSHA standard prescribed for helmets and found that it did not violate any of their standards," Richard Ficks, chief spokesman for the state Labor Department, said Friday. Ficks said the helmets also passed a test during which a firefighter wearing the helmet was subjected to sounds at various decibel levels. OSHA found that the hearing in the right ear was slightly reduced because of a Velcro strap that fastens over that ear, he said.

Fire Chief John B. Stewart Jr. said OSHA recommended that the city ask the manufacturers to alter the strap so that it fastens over the neck instead of the ear. Stewart said Friday he is pleased Paving To Start on ENFIELD Crews will start laying pavement along the shoulder of I-91's southbound lanes in Enfield by Tuesday. The paving is scheduled to begin at Hazard Avenue and proceed south to King Street, said Robert O'Connor, resident engineer for Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mcndenhall Architects and Engineers, the consulting engineering firm fop the state Department of Transportation.

The southbound side of the highway was prepared for new pavement this week with the installation of edge drains to help remove sediment, O'Connor said Friday. New paving on the shoulder of the Drunken Driving Arrests Set Record By JULIUS FABRINI Courant Correspondent BURLINGTON A state police crackdown on drunken driving has produced a record number of arrests in Burlington this year. Thomas Guyette, resident state trooper, said police to date have made 39 drunken driving arrests, compared with 35 for all of 1984, which was the highest previous year. He said the statistics are an indication that the crackdown is working, but said it also shows that Correction The West Hartford Republican Town Committee and the West Hartford Republican Women's Club will co-sponsor a campaign kick-off party Sunday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

at 303 Ridge Road, West Hartford. More information is available by calling 521-3382. Due to incorrect information supplied by the sponsors, the wrong phone number was listed in Friday's Courant. I.